Long awaited snapper season arrivesChris Vasilevski | First Published: October 2013

Finally, the long awaited snapper season is upon us, and for those who have been hibernating during winter, surely the idea of a nice a big red on the other end of your line is enough to entice you out of your cave.

Snapper

By October the snapper have made their way into the bay and it’s now time to get a move on and put the time in on the water to get amongst the reds: there’s no better feeling then getting that first run. We have been getting the reds offshore for the last month, and it will only get better from here in. A good start is to have a look at places like offshore reefs and up the bay, with fresh flesh bait as their preference. It won’t be long until you have your first red for the season.

Squid

The squid should be thickening up by now in both size and numbers. There’s no better bait for the big red then fresh squid. So far the darker coloured jigs have been working quite well this season, though it can all be a bit of trial and error at times, so keep trying different colours if you don’t find any success with what you are currently using.

As squid like to congregate around the weeded areas we have found that drifting over the kelp beds has been a great place to find them.

Flathead

By the end of October we should be into some good quality flathead offshore, so if you are after a good feed of flathead tails, arm yourself with fresh squid as it is their preferred bait.

Australian salmon

We will start to see the first school of Australian salmon come in right about now, so keep an eye out for the bird life. If they are a bit quiet then you might be able to find a feed in areas like Point Nepean around Corsair, but be careful as it can be a dangerous place to fish if you don’t know the area. Another place you could try are alone the beaches.

October is a great time of year for Port Phillip and Bass Strait, as it is the start of all things fishing.

Get yourself out there and amongst because it is just the start of the fishing season and there will be plenty more to come.